Black & White
by thebiggestnoob
Summary: People aren't what they seem. Jayce thought it was just a simple contract. But what he didn't know was that simple contract would throw him in the middle of an ancient plan to conquer the world. Nor did he expect to meet someone struggling with themselves just like him along the way.
1. Keeping Up Appearances

**Author's Notes: Alright. I'm doing to be going with the more conventional style of uploading chapters as a finish them. Before I was finishing and editing entire stories before uploading anything but now I don't really have to time to do that. Because of this there is no schedule for updates.**

**I wrote this because I wanted to expand on the setting I've built and give it more scope. The Freljord Incident was written with this goal as well and I feel like it turned out very well. (Also that is the squeal to Spark, some people don't know this so I'm repeating it here. If you liked Sparks go read that.) Because this is an Expansion I would recommend reading Sparks if you haven't already as that fic establishes characters and events I'm going to use.**

**Secondly to expansion this story is an experiment. I want to see if I'm a talented enough writer to take character with a very distinct personally but limited depth and give him depth. I also want to see if I can make said character more like a human then a movie star. I'm referring to Jayce. If seeing Jayce in the tag didn't deter you then I'm assuming you don't really mind him.**

**I want to improve my writing further so any constructive criticism and comments are welcome. Keep in mind the dates I have at the beginning of scenes, these are important. I'm very excited to see how this does. For you romance buffs this WILL have content for you but I like to put plot first; as always. Enjoy and if you have any questions shoot me a PM.**

_A Face is just a face._

_In no way is it indicative to a person._

_A face can be shaped by the wearer at will._

_Changed at will, as it were clothing._

_If someone is truly in pain, you will never see it on their face._

_The face only shows what they wish you to see._

_ ~Celene._

Chapter 1

Keeping Up Appearances

8.8.23CLE

The speech leaked under the cheap door of his dressing room, mixing with the dull buzz of star-rods and his own breathing. He blinked, painstakingly pulling the electric razor across his face to prime his signature five-o-clock shadow. With a scowl he stiffened his blocky jaw and ran the blade slowly downward. He growled as the bulbs lining his gilded mirror glanced there artificial light off the blade and into his eyes.

He jumped as knuckles slapped against the door. The cheap hinges rattled. The razor slipped from his hand onto the counter in front of him with a clatter though he withdraw fast enough to avoid being cut. He swore. "Fuck."

"Jayce!" Jayce remained silent, almost hoping he would go away and take the stress with him. A pause, then another knock. Jayce decided not to dwell on what he could be thinking. He was clearly in the room. He filed him as a dumbass in the back of his mind and sighed. Publicity awaits.

"Yeah?" he called back.

He could practically see the weasel like grin worming its way onto the theater director's face. He was a short stocky man with a lust for money; and women to a lesser extent. Jayce could understand why someone could easily get controlled by both. He shook his head. The man made a sound, a sound that Jayce had never heard anyone else make. It was a cross between a laugh and squeal of excitement. "You're on in ten minutes big guy, you should get out here." he said then with annoying whistle he turned on his heel and walked off towards the ballroom.

Jayce frowned, turning back to his mirror. Spotting his reflection his frown deepened. Hurriedly he examined his face, spotting no imperfections in his shave he flicked his eyes up to his hair. Opening his mouth he extended his tongue, planting his index finger on it for a brief second. He reached up and pinched the length of hair above his forehead. With a twirl of his finger he tightened his grip on it before pulling. It sprung into a curl.

Blinking his _People face_ sprung forth, a confident smirk with a perking of his eyebrows looked back at him from the mirror. He held the expression. _Yep, that's Jayce alright. _He thought. With some effort he intensified the expression. _Kill me._ It fell from his face to be replaced by the dullness he preferred; but the camera's never liked that.

Jayce exited his dressing room backward. "Oh, oh! Oh! Jayce." _Cameras..._he stared at his door for a brief moment, extending the time he could spend without his face on. "Mr. Jayce!" The voice belonged to a child. He pondered. "Mr. Jayce!" the child called again. He made sure to put the proper face on before turning around. The child couldn't be more than six, he lit up; giving Jayce a good view of the two front teeth he was missing. His eyes flicked to the small action figure in the child's hand and in that moment he felt a seething hatred for his project director. Pushing the rage at being forever cemented as the Defender of Tomorrow away he grinned.

"What's your name?"

The kid suddenly stepped backward, his father's head landing on his head. A pudgy man Jayce recognized as the theater janitor. Jayce almost let the expression slip from his face. His eyes flicked to the exit door that led out into the alley behind the theater; propped ajar by a yellow mop bucket. A prick of guilt stuck him in the chest. Ignoring it returned his eyes to his young fan. The kid suddenly looked very shy. "His names James." this child's father spoke up.

Jayce knelt down to eye level. "What can I do for you James?" he asked as heroically as he could while remaining at the proper volume to not alert the theater director whom couldn't be far. Jayce had personally requested much to the distaste of his manager that there be no backstage passes.

"W-well uh. Mr. Jayce I saw you on TV with your transforming hammer. I just wanted a picture." he forced a shy smile. "I've been taking stuff apart sense before I could walk around. I don't know, I just want to be like you and invent something cool one day." Jayce frowned for a millisecond. His eyes flicked up to the boy's father whom clutched an old fashion film camera in his fingers. The raising of a bushy eyebrow signified that he'd seen it. Jayce held the eye contact for a moment before smiling at his son.

"Go ahead, only one picture though, that's the rule." James grinned. Moving from between his father's legs so that he was next to Jayce.

"Say future." Jayce almost snorted but contained it.

"Future." James said brightly. Jayce opted to simply smile.

_Click._

"Sir!" the weaselly theater director was trotting toward them arms swinging wildly to keep balance as if attracted by the click of the camera. "Si- Charlie?" he recognized the boy's father as an employee. Blinking his eyes snapped to the door that was propped ajar. Charlie held his bosses eye contact. Opening his mouth to say something.

"Don't worry about it." Jayce spoke up. Reaching over the kids head he pulled the photograph from the slot on the camera's front and handed it to James before ruffling his hair. "I need to hurry but if you stick around until after the raffle I can sign that for you." Jayce met the director's eyes, the message was clear. He glared.

"You're the best!" James called as Jayce got to his feet and turned on his heel. The second he was facing away from them his face slackened. He decided not to say anything, swallowing the knot that was forming in his throat as he walked off.

The journey to the ballroom from his dressing room was only a short stroll. It was deserted as the staff were all at their stations. He blinked. It he couldn't put his finger on exactly when it had developed. Jayce was something he invented on the spot because he was scared of the cameras. He had never wanted it to explode so hugely; he just wanted to look cool in his fifteen seconds of fame. In all honesty Jayce found himself tiring of it quickly and it has progressed to the point where he may even hate it. He turned the thought over in his head before scowling. 

He paused at the rear door to the ball room. Running his hand over his face he noted that he was developing a headache. He straightened his collar and puffed out his chest. Strapping a huge smile to his face she placed his hands on the double doors and pushed them both open forcefully. The effect was perfect as they swung wide into the room.

- - - 4.5.20CLE

The crash subsided to quickly be overtaken by the blaring of the fire alarm. Everything hurt. The room was black with clots of billowing smoke. Jayce blinked. His mind spent a moment pondering why he was suddenly on his back and how he had gotten there. The desk in front of him had warped inward as if struck by a meteorite. Jayce inhaled only for the breath to spill from his lungs again as a cough.

He shot bolt upright. A foreign sound came from beneath the cheap metal desk. Something was clattering, vibrating against the leg of the desk with an obnoxious rattle. Jayce felt his jaw drop. "Oh my god..." He fanned the smoke from his face and leaned forward. Crawling several paces on all fours he spotted it. One of the crystals jittered against the floor like an excited dog. It was glowing a dim blue; dimming farther the longer he looked until after a moment it stilled and returned to the milky glass form he had been experimenting on for the last week.

His tests had yielded nothing until now. Crystals said to have once been used as a great power source responded to nothing. They were rocks or so he had begun to think. He reached to grab the crystal.

Instantly he regretted it as the small object burned into his palm. With a yelp he shot upright only for his head to collide with the desk. The desk flipped. The shattering of glass beakers filled his ears. Jayce coughed again, gripping his scalp staggered to his feet. The tap of fast approaching footsteps caught his attention and before Jayce could react the door flung open. It struck the wall with a crash. Before him stood Samantha a team member on the crystal project and a friend sense school.

He brown hair framed a driven expression as she stood with her pink slippered foot extended through the doorway. His expression dropped off. "MY LAB!" her brown eyes flashed as she spotted Jayce. The fire extinguisher in her hand came up. Before Jayce could process what was happening his hair was blasted back as she angrily covered him in fire retardant foam. "How did you manage this with nothing but basic chemistry and a rock you dipshit!?" Jayce shielded his face with his hands as she gave him another blast from the fire extinguisher before running past him into the lab only to find there was no fire.

Coughing Jayce waddled after her towards the window. After a moment of suffocating fiddling the latch and the brushing aside of a distressed spider the panel gave and swung outward into the upper city of Piltover. The wind outside made quick work of the smoke filling the lab and soon it was thin enough for the two scientists to see one another. Samantha bushed her hair out of her face. "No fire." she exhaled. It was then that she spotted the desk.

A hole that spanned roughly ten inches had been melted straight through its center. The floor around it was slick with assorted chemicals. She looked up at him, expression pensive. "What did you do?"

Jayce felt his hand raise to the back of his neck sheepishly. He shock the foam from his hair. "I don't remember all that great. I had a pipet in my hand. I was really sleepy. I stayed up all night toying with the fucking rock." Jayce sighed. "I guess I zoned out."

Samantha eyed him in the most judging expression he had ever seen. She puffed out her cheeks and gave him a third blast with the fire extinguisher. "THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHIRT!" Jayce retorted, shielding himself with his arms.

"FUCK YOUR ZANNY CAT SHIRT! I HATE IT!" Samantha shouted back.

"ITS LIMITED ADDITION! I GOT IT SIGHED AT THE CONVENTION!" Jayce fled the room. Samantha growled and turned to pursue. She stopped. Jayce shyly peaked his head in the door once again; confused as to why she wasn't chasing him like she normally did. In the crux of the overturned desk sat the crystal. A clear liquid leaked around the desks corner towards it. She reached for it. "Don't touch it. I burned the shit out of myself." Jayce said urgently. She paused, her eyes flicked to him then back to the crystal.

The liquid and crystal touched. The room flashed blue and Samantha found herself on her back in an identical manner to how Jayce had been moments before. The crystal shown blinding blue and jumped around the room like a ratiocinating gunshot. Jayce ducked as it bounced out of the lab and down the hall. It put out a light or two on its way down before it struck exit sign above the door; broke it and clattered to the tile where it lay still. Jayce blinked his heart rate peaking. He turned and rushed into the lab. The smoke was already leaving through the open window has he helped Samantha to her feet. She coughed. "Mercury." she pointed to the ruptured bottle labeled Mercury that rolled along the floor. "It touched the Mercury and reacted." the two looked at each other. Her hair was blown back and smoldering. He was coated in foam and looked as if he had just escaped a laundry-soap explosion.

"The chairmen is going to kill us." Jayce said.

"My sexy ass he will. We just made him his carrier." she retorted. "Grab some tongs. I need to find a letter machine."

- - - 8.8.23CLE

The light of the ballroom bit at Jayce's eyes. He blinked the glare away and the room melted into view. The convention floor was covered with circular tables. A white table cloth covered each. Opera wafted through the massive room from speakers near the ceiling. A low murmur jumped about as did the jingle of connecting wine glasses. The chatter intensified at his appearance. He forced a confident smirk and looked about; fists on his hips.

Around the room he spotted many people he had seen before. Piltover's Finest where sitting together against the far wall from him. Eyes shied away from them. Police had that effect on a lot of people; Vi being Vi did nothing to lessen that effect as she appeared to be rather drunk already. Her partner of two years hid her face behind a fan in what appeared to be embarrassment. He scanned the room farther. The Mayor was here. A number of exceedingly rich looking people sat around him. Some he recognized. Owners and CEO's of corporate entities. One spotted him and pointed to the others. Monocles were raised and Jayce was thrown numerous waves and smile. He snapped his fingers and finger gunned there way.

He then half winced as he spotted what appeared to be a swoon from Vi whom may have thought the gesture was meant for her; as she was very slightly off to the table's right. Jayce decided to go with it and grinned at her before turning his attention towards the room's rear. He paused; surprised.

Samantha waved at him with a bright grin. Jayce's fake smile slid off his face to be replaced by a genuine one for a split second. He hadn't seen her in some time. After their fight and the Viktor incident she hadn't spoken to him. She had left Piltover and pursued the magical arts. The last Jayce had heard of her she was undergoing the evaluation to take on summoner training and study at the Institute of War. From the hooded light blue robe she wore she passed all there tests. Samantha herself was a surprise but the woman sitting next to her was so out of place looking Jayce stared stupidly for a moment.

She was armed first of all, heavily armed. How she had managed to get weapons into the party he had no idea, let alone a heavy crossbow. He recognized her though didn't know her name. Jayce sense his reflection and entrance into the League of Legends had never returned to the Institute in person. The whole experience had been somewhat traumatic. He had seen her on the field numerous times.

She sat with her arms crossed over her chest; face clad in a perpetual scowl of boredom. Her eyes were hidden behind tacky horn rimmed red-lased glasses. Her hair was tightly kept but not carefully tended too. She wore no makeup to speak of. She was clad in a deep blue body sock. A cape fitted with metal shoulder guards and spare ammunition lay over her shoulders and upper chest; layered above a miniature brown leather jacket. The collar of the jacket protested the garment being on top, awkwardly threaded through the neck space of the garment so the collar sat half popped. She was pale. Jayce was unsure what she was looking at behind the glasses but he smiled at her. A thin eyebrow climbed into view above the horn rim of her glasses.

Jayce then paused. His interest was piqued. His foot left the ground in a step toward the table but never made it. "JAYCE!" Vi boomed from next to him. Eyes flicked to the disturbance as Vi with ease wrapped him in a hug that lifted his feet from the floor. "I MISSED YOU, YOU NERD!" Jayce let out a soft growl of protest and a flare of red in his cheeks as the drunk Piltover Enforcer placed him in a headlock and ruffled his perfectly crafted hairdo with her knuckles.

"Vi..." he grunted, wriggling loose. All eyes were on the two. Without thinking he played along. "VI!" he jeered excitedly. His fist cocked and he punched her jokingly in the shoulder. He caught his eyes flicking over her shoulder to Samantha's table. The odd woman had her mouth slightly ajar in astonishment but made no motion besides that. Jayce was unsure why he cared. "How have you and Caitlyn been?"

Vi huffed. "She's boring like always. And I haven't gotten to brake a bone in three weeks." She smirked. "My reputation seems to be scaring all the faces I want to punch away. Crime is the lowest it's been in four years."

"That's good." he small talked. "Photo shoots for me are on an all-time high. It still boggles my mind."

"I can see why. ~ Mr. Future" Vi's expression turned stupid. Jayce felt his grin crack slightly. He abused his height and leaned backward away from her.

"Caitlyn!" a thickly accented voice. It was one of the men that had been sitting at the Mayor's table. "Control your watchdog." the sheriff was busy carefully maneuvering between chairs in a skirt much too frilly to move safely. Vi snorted.

"I put a crook through his living room window last month; that guys doesn't like me." Vi retorted. Jayce felt his ability to care slipping. Events like this were so boring to him. They had no passion or creativity it was all politics.

"Ha! Excuse me for a few minutes Vi." Jayce said brightly. He made his way for the room's rear. There wasn't much time left and once the clock began Jayce wouldn't have the freedom to speak with Samantha. He had maybe five minutes. His eyes once again flicked to the odd woman. She hadn't moved in nearly five minutes her arms remained crossed with the same scowl on her face. Jayce decided to try and ignore her.

He marched passed a group of very expressively dressed woman. He shot them a smile; the response was a parade of giggles. Jayce felt a little sick to his stomach. He ignored it and marched forward. "Jayce!" Samantha squeaked.

"Sammy!" he replied. "What are you doing here? I thought you were training with the Institute."

She glanced shyly at the woman next to her. Jayce glanced at her. Gloved fingers drummed against her forearm. Samantha speaking pulled his attention back to the left. "About that... It kind of a long story but... ahh." Jayce looked at her questioningly. "You see."

"She's under my protection." The woman said from her right.

Jayce looked at her confused. "From what? Why?" he said worried. She said nothing.

"Just... Magic bullshit." Samantha said very softly.

"So are you in danger? Should I talk to the police? I have connections. I can get you the best protection around." Jayce said worried.

"Hpm." her guard let the sound slip. Jayce shot her a questioning but challenging look. She remained static. Question about what she must be thinking sprung into his mind. The 'Jayce face' had yet to fail him and him not fully understanding why it worked so well in the first place only served to compound his confusion.

"Thanks Jayce." Samantha smiled. "But I'll be fine."

"Jayce come here for a moment." He recognized the Mayor's voice from behind them. It was time to get to work. The raffle would start any moment. He suppressed the frown he felt coming instead settling on a confident grin.

"Excuse me ladies~" he shot them a gleaming smile. Aimed at the guard rather than Samantha herself. The scientific side of him was at work now; experimenting with the social setting and her reaction. She ignored him. He decided to push the experiment farther. With a click of his tongue he brought out the finger guns. His thumbs snapped forward with a wink. A few jealous sounds erupted from around him but the subject of his attention did nothing bot cock of an eyebrow at his display. He was forced to act on it or risk pushing it too far. He turned on his heel.

"Ahh Jayce. I'm glad you're well." The Mayor was a short pudgy man with a top hat and mustache. He fit in with the high class of the party so well it was painful. "I'm glad we could get together for this little sponsorship."

"Well Mr. Mayor I don't know how little anything like this could be. The money this makes with allow for years of scientific sturdy. This is everything that Piltover is; I would hardly call that small." Jayce faked a smile and bowed. He had never liked this guy. The man never seemed interesting in anything that didn't involve food, even the future of his people.

"Yes, yes well. Just remember we're using your publicity to advertise. Win a week with- will be very profitable if it can draw in this kind of crowd. And you're a great place to start. How does it feel to be the first sponsored lady-killer?" it took all of Jayce's willpower to keep from coughing at that question. The black weight of depression nipped at the back of his mind at the word. He forced a somehow bigger grin then before.

"Pretty good. But this Is for Piltover's Future." He said proudly.

The lights dimmed. The murmur of the parties occupants disappeared as a man in an expensive suit walked into the cleared space in the center of the room. A spotlight framed him as he cleared his throat. The music silenced as he cleared his throat. A speech followed. Jayce tuned him out as she seated himself next to the mayor. He pretended to listen. His eyes flicked to Samantha's table. She waved at him. Admittedly he dreaded the next few minutes as it meant a week without solitude. A week of Jayce.

Some minutes passed, the speech droned on. Jayce blended in with the rich crowd perfectly. Toasted wine glasses when expected and clapped when they clapped. Finally after nearly twenty minutes of corporate speech Jayce was required to pay attention. _Why did I sign up for this...?_

"-without farther blathering and delays." soft chuckles of humoring wafted about the room.

"YOUR JOKES SUCK!" Vi called from the other side of the room.

"Vi!" Caitlyn hissed. The man ignored her, knowing she was completely immune to anything he could do. He cleared his throat to let her know she had annoyed him. A gesture to which Vi let out a single barking laugh; and went on.

"As you know everyone names were pooled into this hat when you entered. The winner gets to spend a week with Jayce, The Defender of Tomorrow and the Hero of Piltover. The proceeds will be donated to the academy of science and development." He reached into the upturned hat in front of him. Jayce felt his heart start beating frantically. Part of him questioned how everyone else looked so bored. A slip of paper was pulled up to his mustached face. He squinted slightly.

"Shauna Vayne." he called out. Vi exploded with cackling laughter. Jayce traced the spot light as it passed over him toward Samantha's table. Jealous eyes all fixed on Vayne. The woman managed a tiny sigh.

"Samantha. Kill me." Vayne ordered. A murmur of question came drifting around from the room.

"Congratulations." the man said.


	2. Ghosts

_Have you ever been followed, Your Honor?_

_I don't mean like to the store by your wife._

_I mean like followed home._

_Watched as you sleep by eyes unknown to you._

_Stalked relentlessly through life by death itself?_

_I'm not going to try and appeal to you or your system._

_You're free make your own judicially empower choice._

_I just want you to understand that the only way to escape me; like death..._

_Is to die._

_ ~Celene on trial for war crimes._

Chapter 2

Ghosts.

8.8.23CLE

The tap of footsteps descending the theater's illuminated stairs escaped into the night as the double doors were thrown ajar. Jayce blinked startled. The pudgy from of the mayor rushed passed him as night air filled the theaters airlock. "WAIT! Ms. Vayne, Please reconsider." he huffed after her with some effort as she pulled Samantha behind her by her sleeve. The Nighthunter scowled behind her glasses. "Think of the future! Think of all the advances this money will fund."

Vayne pauses, now on the sidewalk. The clicks and flashes of camera's now pelting her and Samantha's persons. The Mayor slide to a halt behind her, his weight carried him an extra foot or so. Panting from fatly jogging after her he straightened himself up and removed his monocle. "Look I know you're not a resident of Piltover. But as a favor. Please allow his company for a week. Any expenses that Jayce himself cannot cover will be reimbursed with interested." he sniffed. "In other words we'll be paying you."

Vayne decided looking at him would be more respectful then she wished to be so she instead glared at the nearest camera man; whom withered. "Look, I have no need for money. My job is to protect those who cannot protect themselves, not whore myself out to some corporate exploitation of fame. What's the point of even sending him anyways?"

Jayce grinned. He had already been paid. This Vayne might just get him off the hook. The mayor groaned. "It's a requirement of the contract that he go, they're basically paying him to go."

"Just pick some other name." Vayne said flatly. She glanced at Samantha. "I told you this was a bad idea. You already got what you came for, we should have just left."

Samantha pulled her hood back and hissed. "Hey! I'm not going to just sit around in my home town because you hate fun." she crossed her arms. "I haven't seen my nerd in years; I say we bring him along."

"No."

"No? Vayne you're a bodyguard, not my boss. You're doing the Leagues business by escorting me, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy if you ditched me over something like this." Samantha growled.

"Are you threatening me?" Vayne asked flatly.

Samantha turned away from her, looking the mayor in the eyes. "Will there be cameras? We're on sensitive Institute business."

"No. It's a sponsorship, all that needs to happen be Jayce leaves for around a week, nothing more." Samantha looked over her shoulder at Vayne and scowled. A soul sucking sigh escaped the Nighthunter.

"Fine. Pack you're shit, we leave in ten minutes."

- - - 12.21.21

Jayce couldn't believe what had just happened. He knew that Zaunit couldn't be trusted. His head was a swirl of emotion. The mercury crystals, easily renewable energy; _HIS_ work. What started with a simple but violent reaction over four months had turned into a prototype, a ground breaking one. Through some careful shaping of the crystals and harnessing Jayce had normalized the explosive energy output into a simple generator. Eight pyramid shaped crystals rigged into a rotating assembly. The flat base was exposed with the rest of the crystals seals in fluid tight holders. With a pair of electromagnets on each end the harness would spin when submerged in mercury. With the simple flip of a switch flaps would seal the crystals completely off and halt the reaction. It was simple but very effective at converting the uncontrolled energy release into a self-powering turbine. But none of that mattered now.

The fire alarm and whine of sirens filled his ears. His chest was pounding hard. A he didn't even knew the man. Viktor was rumored to be involved in the steam golem project. The power source wasn't just something that Piltover could use. Zaun, its less ethical counterpart could probably put self-generating energy to some horrible end. Jayce shook his head. The melters came to mind, the single use fuse canisters that had to be moved behind them. He could remember the newspaper article detailing ships full of them heading to Ionia all those years back. Viktor likely wasn't involved, from what Jayce had gathered he wanted the crystals for some experiments in trans-humanism.

"Room clear!" shouting could be heard from outside. Jayce groan, a pain in his chest announcing itself. He looked down, his front was covered in blood. Viktor had shot him in the chest with a handheld melter. A civilian sidearm really but he was beginning to feel light headed. _I need medical attention..._ his brain drowsily told him. He wanted to go after him.

The thumping of boots could be heard. With a crash the door to the next lab over swung open. The metallic click of rounds being chambered echoed down the hall and there was a pause. "Room clear." the rattle of equipment pressing against the wall. With a bang the door to his lab flew open. The soldier in the doorway took a step back soldiers fanned into the room, covering every possible angle. The first to see him snapped his weapon downward, pointing it at Jayce's face. He made a hand signal. The man next to him holstered his weapon and with a quick step slid to Jayce's side. He knelt down. Jayce saw his lips move but heard nothing, come to think of it he couldn't hear the soldiers as they left the room, nor the fire. He was deaf. He blinked. _My work._ He lay his head back, staring at the ceiling. _The military wouldn't do anything to recover it, it would be an act of war. But if the technology was adapted Piltover would be under serious military threat. _Not all was lost. Viktor had set fire to his blueprints and stolen the crystals but he hadn't taken the original. The one that had burned him a year before.

The room began fading. He grinned, a plan formulating in his head. Science was about breaking boundaries, discovery. Once he was healed Jayce knew he would need to do something he'd never done before; hopefully he had enough time.

- - - 8.9.23 CLE

Jayce blinked. He couldn't sleep, not with the bumpy road thumping away at the carriage wheels. Not with the Institute of War looming less than a day away. Caitlyn had insisted on a police escort for their little group. Jayce being a Piltover VIP warranted this for reasons he didn't totally understand. Either way, a second horse drawn carriage was closely behinds there's along with three officers. Jayce blinked. With a grunt he pushed the folded up Mercury hammer along the carriage floor. It had tipped over and was cutting off blood flow to his left foot. He had a hard time not smiling when he looked at it. Even if it did create whole situation it was in. micro folding technology just made him happy. The whole hammer could fold up into roughly the size of a suitcase.

Vayne was a staring at him. He looked at her, awkwardness pungent in the carriage. He glanced at Samantha, wanting her to say something. She was sleeping. _Shit_ Jayce sighed.

"So what brought you to Piltover?" he asked. A fake smile adorned his face.

"Its classified institute business." Vayne said.

Jayce glance out the window. It had been nighttime when they left, now it was pitch black. He leaned forward, pulled the Mercury hammer onto his lap and retorted. "Do the authorities know what your business is?"

Vayne peaked at him over the top of her glasses like an annoyed librarian but didn't replay. Jayce was unsure why he began his next topic. "You know. I heard you're a vigilantly. Hunting _Evil doers_ In Demaica outside of the law."

Vayne glanced out the window and snorted. "The _Law_ doesn't do what's right for the people, it doesn't understand the real threats. It's too enraptured in politics to protect its people."

"So you do it." Jayce interrupted.

Vayne shut her mouth, looking at him perplexed before replaying, "Yes." as curtly as she could.

"Can you define evildoers for me?" Jayce asked. Vayne gave him a look. The investigative look _you're acting different._ Maybe he was. Maybe he was just tired. Maybe Jayce just didn't seem appropriate here. This woman had shown no interest in his suave alter-ego. No interested when everyone else displayed extreme interest, it was fascinating.

She then did something that surprised him. She removed her glasses. Her eyes were striking blue but shallow. Dead pits of color. A blank emotionless stare punched through him, the wall behind him and out into the darkness. The glasses somewhat disguised this expression, the thousand yard stare. She looked at him for a few seconds before glancing at Samantha. "That... is a very difficult question." she blinked. "To define an evildoer you'd need to define evil. Evil is something that is considered subjective by most. Its ideals differing based on the culture you appeal it to. In some cultures it doesn't exist at all; in their eyes."

Jayce nodded to show he was listening. She didn't seem to care if he was and kept talking. "- to put it into words, Evil is an act at the extreme expense of others." She looked up staring him square in the eyes. "Everyone has done it at least once."

"So how do you tell if someone is an evildoer, it's just sounds like a value judgment." Jayce asked.

Vayne smirked at him coldly and looked down at her knees. "If I catch them." she looked at him again. Her eyes betraying an alarming amount about her character in those short seconds until she turned to look out the window. _I see evil in everyone, and I dispose of it ruthlessly._ It clicked. Jayce stared at her.

They were the same. Something had tipped him off before. Vayne had suppressed herself just like him; but for different reasons. She wasn't a person, she was something else. The shell of a human without everything quiet there. It was clear as day now that he thought about it. The way she moved, how she acted. Her actions, her temper, her eyes. She had buried herself to become something else. Jayce for a moment was overcome but acute fascination. The gears in his head turning over the new question. Vayne noticed he was staring now. He eyes narrowed as the two examined each other silently. "You know... I've done some vigilantism myself."

Vayne didn't say anything. Jayce cleared his throat and went on. "I met this scientist from Zaun in a cross state project. He was studying trans-humanism. He wanted to make people better using cybernetics. At the time I was working on the mercury project." Jayce motioned to the hammer. "We talked, shared some details and he wanted to join forces. But the more I talked to him the more uncomfortable I got. He was... fanatical. He talked about how cybernetics was the key to the next step of human evolution and he made some good points. But..."

"Viktor."

Jayce blinked. "...yes. You know him?"

"He's at the league."

"Fucking wonderful... he stole my work, I refused as politely as I could. I just didn't feel like what he was doing was... well... ethical and didn't want to be involved. The next day he walked into the building at the university where I worked and confronted me. He insisted and I said no. he shot me in the chest. I remember him grabbing me by my hair and spitting in my face _You're what's wrong, you're what's in the way._ He set fire to my lab, stole the crystals and took off. By the time the police arrived he was gone."

Vayne stared at him flatly for a long moment. He could see her brain working. "What did you do, how did you feel?"

"I was pissed. When I could move again I... well..." he looked at Samantha. "I built the rig for the mercury hammer. The Police and Piltover armed forces didn't listen to me, it would mean a war to reclaim my research, but I couldn't justify Zaun having access to it either; what with their involvement with Noxus and all. It could kill a lot of people. I designed the hammer specifically to pacify him, and I stole the original crystal from Samantha to power it... I got on a ship, tracked him down and we fought."

Jayce swallowed. "It got messy, he was just as passionate about his work as I am about mine. After it was done I doubted if I had done the right thing. I smashed his lab, shattered the crystals before fleeing the city limits." Jayce decided to stop.

"I wouldn't say that's the same type of Vigilantism. But I can understand your logic."

"If you don't mind me asking... what happened to you?" Jayce blinked, the words had jumped from his brain, onto his tongue and out before he could stop them.

Vayne narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Why... do you hunt evildoers like this? Haven't you ever wanted to be normal?" Jayce was surprised at himself.

Vayne let out a short laugh. "There is no such thing as normal. As for why, well." she smiled, not the cold smile from before but warmly. "That's none of your business." she then blinked, surprised with herself as well. Jayce pushed the smile off his face. He had touched her somehow. He opened his mouth to say more but quickly became distracted. The carriage was filled with a faint electric humming. Jayce blinked attempting to identify its source. He looked at the hammer at his feet. It was inactive like he thought.

Vayne felt her eyes narrow, her expression became hard again. She reached across the carriage onto Samantha's lap and pulled her back to herself. With a click the clasp was undone and the flap of the backpack flipped open. A white light jumped out past Samantha's belonging. Jayce blinked. "The fuck is that?" he muttered and moved so he could see into the bag. He peered, inside was a crystal, not like the ones he had worked with. It was larger, carved into a rectangle and milky white. Light escaped from it as it hummed softly. Jayce jumped as Vayne suddenly loaded her weapon. She opened the carriage door and leaned out. "Trouble" She called to the driver. "Pick it up!"

"HYAA!" the reins snapped and the carriage jolted enough to wake Samantha.

"Huh. What's wrong?" she asked tiredly.

"The air is fowl... and your experiment seems to agree with me." Vayne said calmly. She tossed the bag into Samantha's chest. The summoner fumbled with it startled before looking inside.

"Oh shit!" she whispered. Jayce looked at her confused.

Confused shouts came from the carriage behind them. Jayce looked from the summoner to Vayne. "What's going on, what is that?" neither answered him.

"See I told you they would follow you." Vayne said calmly.

"Well what the fuck do we do?!" Samantha retorted softly.

"Who's they?!" Jayce interjected. Both of them looked at him, suddenly remembering he was there.

"The policemen." Samantha gasped. She scrambled to the carriage door and pushed it open. The wind caught her hood and shoved it in her face as she leaned out, looking behind them. "RUN!" she shouted. Jayce felt the pricks of fear in his chest at the unknown situation. His body responding to the implied danger he knew nothing about. Vayne grabbed Samantha's cloak and pulled her back inside.

"Stay out of sight." she hissed before looking at Jayce coldly. Her eyes flicked to his hammer then back to him. It was then that he heard it. Something like a cross between a lion and a bear, howling into the night. Shouting came from the carriage behind them. Jayce pulled the hammer onto his lap.

"...what's following us...?" he asked weakly.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" The sudden rattles of automatic gunfire echoed into the night behind them. Shouting turned to fearful screaming. Jayce stiffened at the sounds.

Vayne looked at him flatly. "Evildoers." she replied. Jayce swallowed, color leaving his face. Samantha was a ghost already. Vayne looked out the window. Then with one swift motion slipped from her seat onto the floor of the carriage, making herself as small as possible. Her hands shot up and pulled both Jayce and Samantha down with her. Jayce cocked an eyebrow but the situation was quickly made clear to him. A fleshy clawed hand tore through the back of the carriage with a swift motion it ripped forward and up through the roof. Blood splattered down onto the trio as the driver shrieked in pain and surprise.

The doors on the left side and half of the ceiling was pulled into the night by the hand. Jayce didn't get a good look at it but whatever it was it was keeping up with the carriage in full sprint as it ripped the driver off somewhere into the darkness. Vayne shot upright the second it was gone, she vaulted through the damaged wall and into the drivers position where she stood looking back on the scene behind them. Jayce wiped the blood from his face, grabbed the hammer and leaned out to see. The police carriage behind them twisted as one of the horses was tackled to the ground and mauled. The carriage overtook it and tipped onto its side. Spilling the men within out into the darkness. The remaining horse shook free of its harness and bolted. The orange glimmer of gunshots chased them down as the scene shrank away into the darkness. In the flutters of muzzle flash Jayce made out some odd shapes overtaking the remaining police whom where scattering. The gunshots subsided and moments later; as did the screaming. The brief quiet allowed Jayce to hear Samantha whimpering.

A lumbering shape was approaching behind them. Two red dots punch through the darkness. Jayce in those moment learned that his mind was very adept at giving the creature all manner of horrifying faces. The whine of a hextech motor cut through his thoughts. With a rapid array of twangs a stream of glinting silver bolts rocketed over his head into the lumbering creature. It howled so loud Jayce felt his eardrums shake, stumbled and fell over itself. Vayne lowered her weapon and turned. She sat and whipped the reins. The horses appeared to be running as fast as possible already.

"If they catch us we're dead." she said calmly. Jayce blinked, trying to force his mind to recover from the blue screen the sudden events had put him in. he clambered up next to Vayne. "Samantha stay low." he ordered. Once in the open air he pulled the level on the hammers handle. With a flurry of metallic clatters it unfolded into its six foot self. The reactor filled with an audible sucking and the whole device lit up blue. The whirling of the generator was somewhat comforting as he flipped the switch on the handle. More where coming. He could see shapes in the darkness behind them; pressuring. The hammer transformed, its weighted head splitting to allow the delicate machinery of its cannon components out.

"This is an ionic powder I'm going to spray over us." Jayce said loud enough for both Vayne and Samantha to hear him. "It's a catalyst for the hammer accelerator technology. With a puff, glistening white powder was sprayed from the hammers tip over the horses. He raised the weapon so the powder also landed on Vayne, himself and the damage carriage. "Okay brace yourselves." he pointed the weapon forward past Vayne's shoulder. With a trigger pull two bolts of blue light shot from it sides at odd angles. They flew for a moment before halting midair. In between them arc a faint blue light. Vayne recognized this from the Fields of Justice. With a crack of the reins she forced the horses onward through it. The world stretched briefly as the carriage shot off into the night. Jayce turned around to face the dark shapes. With another trigger pull a crackling ball of electricity rocketed from his weapon. It's hit the gate of light and accelerated erratically. With a flash of blue light and a crash it hit the shapes behind them and exploded. Jayce shielded his eyes. There was a silence.

Vayne looked over her shoulder as the carriage returned to its normal speed. "Lost them?" Jayce asked.

Vayne shook her head. Her eyes flicked off to her left. She gasped, jumping from her seat and diving onto her stomach. She grabbed Samantha by her hood and with surprising strength pulled the summoner onto her lap, bag and all. Jayce traced her gaze. A beast, fur less and covered in gray stretched skin slammed into the carriage. It toppled throwing its occupants off into the darkness. Jayce felt his head slap against the dirt. Stars flattered against the cloudy night sky. Vayne rolled perfectly onto her feet. With a rattle of bolts leaving her weapon the creature scream and reared back. Jayce shook his head and forced himself dazed onto his feet. He scooped up his weapon. Vayne dove to the right as the beast charged, reloading mid dive. Jayce had no idea what was happening as the woman managed to stay inches ahead of the creature. She fired another spray of bolts. It reared back again. Its skin appeared to be boiling. She howled, scratching at the bolts imbedded in its arm. With a crash it hit the ground face down.

More howling, punctuated by motor? The whine of a hextech motor was fast approaching, much bigger than the one Vayne had. "I think they're three of them. I've killed two." Vayne said calmly. Over the approaching vehicle he heard it, a rustle off to Vayne's left. He saw it before she did. The creature was smaller than to two before, but much faster. It dove out of the darkness, not at Jayce or Vayne but at Samantha. Vayne dove to the right so it didn't bisect her with hits outstretched claws. Jayce's body acted before his mind did. The switch was flipped and the cannon transformed mid swing into its blunt counterpart. With a metallic clang the head slapped the creature in the face. It tumbled backward over itself and landed on its feet. Jayce slipped into stance, trying to push the fear off his face as his thumping heart filled his ears. It buckled down and screamed at him. An unearthly sound, oddly human but also very inhuman. Jayce bit his lip. The third switch down was flipped. Bolts of crackling electricity jumped from the hammers handle to the ground, lighting small fires in the grass as he buckled down and shouted back at it. Vayne scoffed at him, raised her weapon and fired.

The creature jumped backward before to her surprise her crossbow jammed. "Shit." she muttered. The creature charged her. Jayce acted, he took two step, weights shifting up through the hammers handle to make the head as heavy as possible. He swung. The Creature brought its arms up. With a shattering crack of bone its arms buckled. The hammerhead slammed into its face and sent it flying backward into Vayne. Jayce bite his lip as the pair tumbled. It landed on top of her, though it took a second for it to regain its bearings and notice. Vayne didn't have time to glare. Its jaw split open into a mouth of alarming size for its eerily human features. The boom of a single gunshot caused Jayce to spin on his heel's the creatures rolled off her, a neat three inch hole through the side of its head; though it didn't seem to care. Caitlyn hopped out of the police car that had just skidded up, raised her rifle and fired again. The creature screamed at her as Vayne scrambled backward and upholstered the large crossbow on her back. Caitlyn cycled the weapon and fired a third time. The creature charged her, the sheriffs eyes widened as she noted her shots did nothing to stop it. Vi ducked past her. The creature tumbled backward again as she hit it with a swift uppercut that landed with a satisfying thump. The enforcer snarled and dove on it. Jayce just watched in shocked awe as the pink haired enforcer wrestled the creature into a full nelson.

"SHOT THE FUCKING THING VAYNE!" she shouted as it tore at the air in front of itself but was unable to escape her gauntlets. Vayne took two steps to her right and discharged the heavy crossbow such that it didn't punch through and hurt Vi. It howled and attempted to rip the bolt free "Oh no you don't ugly." Vi taunted, pushing it to the ground and pinning it. The creature thrashed for a moment as the area around the bolt of silver caught fire. Finally it lay still. Vayne reloaded her weapon, walked up to it and fired again for good measure. The Nighthunter looked up, lowering her weapon.

Caitlyn looked at her expressionlessly. "Was that the last one?" Vayne nodded. "Where are my officers?"

"Dead." Vayne said flatly. Caitlyn tilted her head. She stepped forward, past Vi whom looked ready to explode. The sheriff paused in front of Vayne.

"Dead?" she repeated, her accent strongly showing itself. Jayce felt his expression fall off as the sheriff grabbed Vayne by the collar and picked her up, stepped forward and slammed her into a tree. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? I JUST LOST THREE GOOD MEN WITH FAMILIES, AND FOR WHAT!?" Caitlyn shouted, Vayne looked just as surprised as Jayce and Vi were. "WHAT THE FUCK IS FOLLOWING YOU!?"

"I told you we had been followed." Vayne said calmly. "I told you sending them wouldn't matter."

"YOU DIDNT TELL ME THAT WHAT WAS FOLLOWING YOU WERENT HUMAN! OR THAT OUR WEAPONS WOULD DO NOTHING TO THEM!" Caitlyn shouted, her face was turning purple. She sucked in a breath. "All you said was that you had to recover an artifact for a League." she set the woman down, composing herself.

"It's a keening stone, used it summoning portals to other worlds." Samantha interjected. "As we've seen the League isn't the only _thing _that wants it."

"Why the fuck was something like that in Piltover?" Vi asked.

Caitlyn groaned. "Fucking Ezreal I bet."

"What now?" Jayce asked, somewhat stupidly, everyone looked at him.

"Get to the Institute, We'll drive you." Caitlyn said. "I expect them to share their files with us."

"These things aren't going to be around the City are they?" Vi asked

Vayne shook her head. "No, they'll be where the crystal is. You might want to supply yourselves with some silver bullets just encase." the whine of Siren was fast approaching.

"Vi can you drive?" Caitlyn asked, jogging to the police car. She scooped up the radio as everyone else followed at varying speeds. Jayce shook his head, wrapping his mind around how drastically his night had just changed. With a rev of the engine they were off. Jayce admittedly was intrigued, motor vehicles were something unique to the Piltover police and military, nowhere else in the world had them. It still wasn't enough to distract him from the shocking ordeal. Either way, he know in the back of his mind that what had started as a simple sponsorship was now much more complex.


End file.
